On Wednesday, the wreckage of cars remained submerged in water after flash floods hit the town of Alfafar in the Valencia region of eastern Spain. Residents were seen attempting to clean streets covered in mud following the devastating floods.
Spain issued another storm warning on Thursday for parts of the Valencia region, which has been ravaged by floods that have claimed at least 95 lives. Rescuers continued their search in flooded fields and stranded cars for those still missing. The local authorities have not disclosed the number of unaccounted individuals, but Defense Minister Margarita Robles indicated that the death toll is likely to rise.
Rescue workers were seen combing through the wreckage of vehicles caked in mud, with some using heavy machinery to clear debris from the streets. Calm weather returned to the hardest-hit areas around Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, but the AEMET state weather agency issued its highest level of alert for the province of Castellon.
Meteorologists reported that a year's worth of rain fell in just eight hours in parts of Valencia on Tuesday, causing pile-ups on highways and submerging farmland. The storm responsible for the torrential downpours has since moved in a northeasterly direction, prompting further warnings from AEMET.
The floods severely damaged the region's infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads, rail tracks, and buildings as rivers overflowed their banks. Residents described seeing people climbing onto the roofs of their cars as a churning tide of brown water surged through the streets, uprooting trees and dragging away chunks of masonry from buildings.
In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, the Magro river burst its banks, sending up to three meters of water into homes. Utiel's mayor, Ricardo Gabaldon, reported at least six deaths in the town, mostly among elderly or disabled residents who were unable to climb to safety.
Early on Thursday, residents began the cleanup effort, using water pumps carried on tractors and children helping to sweep the sidewalks. The floods also destroyed crops and killed livestock, causing significant financial losses for many residents.
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